now on bbc news, the week in parliament. hello there, and welcome to the week in parliament. on this programme, labour says there's been no tracking and tracing of coronavirus in the uk for months. for ten weeks, there's been no tracing, unlike germany and south korea. and tracing is critical. but the prime minister promises the uk will have a world class track—and—trace system. and, yes, it will be in place, it will be in place byjune the ist. the immigration bill bringing in a points—based system passes its first parliamentary hurdle. scotland's first minister sets out her plans to ease the lockdown. and how about this as an idea to lift the spirits when the crisis is finally over? we could possibly have a bank holiday in october because the industry has sort of lost the benefit of the two main bank holidays. but first, the government faced criticism from senior figures in the care sector of its handling of coronavirus. giving evidence to the health and social care committee, the head of the organisation representing care homes said elderly people should have been prioritised from the beginning of the crisis. the chair of the committee asked about a government ambition to move to routine testing of front line care and nhs staff. have you had any indication or sense that this is going to start anytime soon? well, i mean, we've had the announcements, but so often the announcements, there's a time delay before delivery. so, ithink, you know, the intention is there, but also i want to say that it would be very helpful to have both testing and track—and—trace in place because i think that could be a game changer as well in this. so, i think the short answer, chair, is we had the announcement, but what we haven't had is the delivery. and we're not really clear when that's going to arrive. professor martin green. and those comments on routine coronavirus testing in care homes were seized on by the labour leader, sir keir starmer, at prime minister's questions the next day. official figures suggest more than 11,500 people have died from the infection in care homes across the uk since the start of the pandemic. so, sir keir starmer wanted a straight answer. when would routine testing start? the chief executive of care england, who knows what he's talking about, gave evidence yesterday that it hasn't. if the prime minister is disputing the evidence of the select committee, that's his own business. order, order. secretary of state for health, i don't mind you advising the prime minister, but you don't need to advise the opposition during this. sorry, do you want to leave the chamber? we're at maximum numbers. if you want to give way to somebody else, i'm more than happy. keir starmer. to assure the prime minister, i'm not expressing my own view. i'm putting to him the evidence of experts to the committees yesterday. we have a growing confidence that we will have a test, track and trace operation that will be world beating, and, yes, it will be in place, it will be in place byjune the 1st. the snp's westminster leaderjoined calls to exempt more key workers from abroad from having to pay a surcharge to use the health service. people migrating to these nations and choosing to work in our nhs and our care sector must have this government's cruel nhs surcharge removed and removed immediately. will the prime minister make that pledge today, or will he clap on thursday hoping that no—one really notices that he's giving with one hand and raking it in with the other? well, boris johnson didn't answer that directly, but he had earlier been asked a similar question by keir starmer and told him that changing the system would leave a hole in the nhs budget. like him, i've been the personal beneficiary of people, or carers who've come from abroad and frankly saved my life. so i know exactly the importance of what he's talking about. 0n the other hand, we must look at the reality that this is a great national service, it's a national institution and it needs funding. and those contributions actually help us to raise about £900 million. and it's very difficult in the current circumstances to find alternative sources, so with great respect to the point that he makes, i do think that that is the right way forward. but on thursday afternoon, just 28 hours after those exchanges, it emerged that the prime minister had changed his mind. number ten said borisjohnson had asked the home office and the department for health and social care to remove health service and care workers from the nhs surcharge as soon as possible. now to brexit, swept off the front pages in recent weeks by the coronavirus crisis. peers wanted to know if customs posts would be established at ports and airports in northern ireland from january and how, if that were the case, it was compatible with "repeated assurances from ministers" that goods moving from northern ireland would have free and unfettered access to uk markets. my prime minister said there will be no forms, no checks, no barriers of any kind. you will have unfettered access. my lords, i simply ask the noble lord, the minister, what is the truth? the prime minister said that if there was any forms of any kind, if someone asked you to fill in the forms, tell them to ring up the prime minister and i will direct them to throw that form in the bin. he was referring to customs and tariffs. on that point, can i ask him if somebody does what the prime minister says and tears up the form and puts it in the bin, what number should they call to speak to the prime minister? well, peers didn't have long to wait for an answer to those questions. on wednesday, the government confirmed that there will be new checks on some goods entering northern ireland from the rest of the uk as part of the brexit deal. the cabinet office minister, michael gove, told mps northern ireland's ports would be developed to carry out checks on animals and food products. the province will continue to follow some eu rules after the brexit transition period ends on december the 31st, but mr gove said there would be no "new" customs infrastructure. we acknowledge, however, as we've always done that on agri—food and live animal movements it makes sense to protect supply chains and the disease—free status of the island of ireland, as has been the case since the 19th century. that will mean some expansion of existing infrastructure to provide for some additional new processes for the agriculture and food sector. but these processes will build on what already happens at ports like belfast. will my right honourable friend confirm that as from the 1st of january 2021, that northern ireland, ie a part of the united kingdom, will be required to abide by eu regulations on certain goods until at least 2024 and potentially indefinitely? it is the case that there will be eu regulations, aspects that will apply in northern ireland to 2024. but of course she draws attention to a very important point, which is that if the workings of the protocol are viewed by the people and the parties of northern ireland as onerous, too much, intrusive and unacceptable, then they have the opportunity to vote them down in 2024. michael gove. meanwhile, measures to create a trade policy independent from the eu came a step closer when the trade bill passed its second reading in the commons. the legislation replaces trade agreements the uk had as an eu member state. as we recover from the economic shock of the coronavirus crisis, providing certainty and predictability in our trading arrangements will be vital to securing the interest of businesses and consumers. we will unleash the potential and level up every region and nation of our united kingdom. now is the time for this house to speak out against protectionism. it is time for us to embrace the opportunities that free trade and an export—led recovery will bring. but labour said the bill was a missed opportunity. instead of a bold strategic vision for the future of our trade policy, we have a stopgap piece of legislation that even ministers are trying to talk down. instead of putting issues like climate change and human rights at the heart of our trade policy, they have been ignored or consciously dropped. instead of opening our trade policy to the expertise of others, the government is denying them even a seat at the table. and instead of restoring parliament's sovereignty over trade policy, this bill leaves mps even more powerless than before. emily thornberry. and another key piece of government legislation also cleared its first commons hurdle. the immigration bill ends the free movement of eu nationals at the end of this year. the aim is to introduce a system whereby would be migrants to the uk will need a certain number of points, such as for skills, education and salary, before they‘ re allowed to come to work. the home secretary said the bill would give people what they called for when they voted for brexit. the bill before us today will play a vital role in our recovery plans for the future. it will end free movement and pave the way for our new points—based immigration system. a firmer, fairer and simpler system that will attract the people we need to drive our country forward through the recovery stage of coronavirus, laying the foundation for a high—wage, high—skill, productive economy. labour focused on the proposals to bring in a salary threshold and how that might affect health and care workers. in the midst of this crisis, the government is putting forward an immigration system containing a salary threshold of £25,600 that sends a signal and tells people that anyone earning less than that is unskilled and unwelcome in our country. we know that one in six of those brave care workers on the front line of the battle against coronavirus are non—uk nationals. i commend the home secretary for her commitment to extend visas for doctors and nurses, but what of care workers? are they to be the cinderella service, forgotten once again? and what of ancillary staff in our hospitals, so crucial in a war against a virus where repeated deep cleaning is an absolute imperative? we cannot open hospitals if we cannot clean the loos. i'm afraid to say this is a dreadful bill, one which will destroy opportunity for future generations and will split even more families apart. it's a bill that will result in many thousands of eu nationals losing their rights in this country and will extend the hostile environment even further. it does not guarantee the rights of british citizens to live, work and study in eu member states. nor does it fully guarantee the rights of uk citizens already living across the eu. and i'm disappointed and frustrated that the government refuses to respect the rights of eu citizens who contribute to this country. i find it beyond comprehension that they do not recognise the need to protect the rights of our citizens either. a conservative recognised immigration had been a factor in the brexit vote. today, we can put the dilly—dally, dither and delay to an end. i understand there are some concerned about what they see as a bizarre concept, the end of free movement. to me, it's rather simple. a uk immigration system developed by uk elected government, a system that serves our national interest, determined by the needs of our economy, a system that treats immigrants from every corner of the globe on the same basis. matt vickers. the number of people claiming unemployment benefit in the uk jumped to just over 2 million in april, the first full month of the coronavirus lockdown. the figures come from the office for national statistics on tuesday. by coincidence the chancellor, rishi sunak, was in front of the lords economic affairs committee its chair got straight to the point. what do you anticipate the level of unemployment will be in the fourth quarter of this year? i do not have a precise estimate there are rates from the 0pr and most of them point to around double—digit percentage unemployment rate, obviously the numbers you would have seen today showjust under a million new claims in the last month, over 800,000 taking the total number of total claims to 2 million. i think 0br estimate had that topping out at about 3 million. obviously the impact will be severe. there will be more hardship to come with this lockdown is having a very significant impact on our economy and we are likely to face a severe recession the likes of which we have not seen and that will have an impact on unemployment. do you accept the length and depth of that recession you referred to will be very much related to the length of the lockdown? i think there are two things to distinguish, one is the immediacy of the economic impact, the depths of the recession, at the question that occupies my mind and in the long—term is probably more relevant is what degree of long—term scarring is there on the economy and as a result of this recession? what is the loss in productive capacity because obviously when we recover from this crisis because by nature i believe it will be temporary and progressively lift restrictions the question is like to be returned to? and the question there is the jury is out. first minister nicola sturgeon has set out how lockdown restrictions will be eased in scotland. she said schools would start preparing next month to reopen from august the 11th. some outdoor activities would be allowed from thursday, including opening gardening centres and waste and recycling sites. it would also be possible to meet people from other households, but only outdoors and in small numbers. the first minister said that businesses would reopen as part of a four—phase easing of the lockdown, which would only continue if the spread of the virus was being controlled. we view them as a proportionate and suitably cautious state of first steps and we hope they will bring improvement and well—being of the quality of life, start to get the economy moving again and start to steer us safely to a new normality. she said the timing of moving between different phases would depend on everyone. we must continue, all of us to recognise that every single decision we take as individuals has an impact on others and our collective well being. does the first minister except that for the parliament and public to have confidence and for scotland to feel safe as we go out of lockdown, it is essential the infrastructure for testing and tracing in testing and protect is in place? i will align our lifting of lockdown measures with the testing and we will be able to do that from the end of next week and every health board area in the country. we need three guarantees. first the government should publish the evidence behind the decisions it has taken and it will take in the future. second, we need to see maximum testing capacity and the test, trace and isolate system that is fully working and universally rolled out. and thirdly, the government's strategy must be flexible and able to adapt quickly to changing circumstances. can the first minister give us these guarantees? yes, i think i can in broad terms. obviously the detail of that will be scrutinised on and develop in the weeks to come. a green msp asked raised newsapaper pictures of sunbathers on an edinburgh beach flouting the current lockdown rules. does the first minister agree particularly given the scenes in portobello, in my own city of edinburgh at the lockdown is getting harder to sustain? when i saw the pictures of portobello beach yesterday i almost felt like crying to some extent because i know why people felt the need to do that in i completely sympathise but every time we have people getting together in ways to provide opportunities for this virus, we risk the progress we have made together so i appeal to people to stick with these restrictions for a bit longer so that we can much more quickly work through these phases and get back to the normality all of us badly crave. meanwhile in wales, there were questions for the first minister about his government's road map out of lockdown. mark drakeford described it as a "traffic light system", but it had come with no dates attached. is this road map the best hope the welsh government can actually offer the people of wales and when can we expect to see some timescales alongside the exit strategy? on time scales, let me say what i had said before and i have been asked, there is a genuine debate to be had whether timescales are a helpful way of setting out the future. in the end, we thought that it was more of a distraction then a concentration on the matter is that really deserve our attention. why should people in wales be subject to the most extraordinary, intrusive and prescriptive restrictions on their freedom if they are not necessary? many who had not previously understood the scope of devolved powers will not like the answer, it is because of devolution. mark dra keford accepted extraordinary powers were being used. i agree with what he said about devolution being brought home to people in this crisis in a way that it has not been over the last 20 years and i doubt that it is true that in wales people are not aware of devolution, it is certainly true that people outside of wales and in london have appeared to have woken up from a 20 year sleep. local authorities in northern ireland are to get access tojust over £20 million in emergency covid—19 funding from the executive. councils are still carrying out essential work, but have lost income from sectors like leisure and tourism. the new funding will help cover costs between now and the end ofjune. northern ireland's communities minister said the executive had agreed to an "immediate intervention" to avoid a cash crisis. the losses sustained to date are such a magnitude councils will soon be unable to meet their financial liabilities. they agreed to make funding available of £20.3 million to my department, for local councils dealing with these pressures. this intervention will provide relief to our local councils to protect the delivery of front line services during this crisis and ensure that the councils are ready to play the role in the post pandemic recovery plans. will primary schools in england be reopening for some pupils from june the 1st? schools are looking at ways to enforce social distancing and make sure it's safe for youngsters and teachers. but at least 11 councils have expressed concerns about the plan, and the teaching union, the nasuwt, said it remained "unconvinced" reopening schools was "appropriate or practicable". peers were told that certain year groups would be expected to go back providing the government's five tests on easing lockdown restrictions were met. labour focussed on the spread or r value of the virus. the minister will have seen today that on local authorities across england are advising school is not to open schools in their areas. public health england saying r values vary across different regions, it is difficult to understand the logic that schools should reopen nationwide on the 1st ofjune. can the noble baroness revealed to the noble lords what the scientific evidence says... the r rate is not actually broken down regionally, it is not published in that form, it is a uk wide estimate, published each week. the individual modelling groups include epidemiological information on the rate of the admissions, death rates and the rates of hospital admissions. it is an average value that can vary across communities but is not published on a regional basis. what are you going to do when lockdown is finally over? top of many people's list, no doubt, is a holiday. the covid—19 shut down has had a massive impact on the tourism industry. despite the sunny spring weather, beaches have been deserted. popular beauty spots have been for the most part empty. hotels up and down the uk are shut, along with campsites, b&bs and holiday homes, all of which has left businesses locked up and facing a shaky financial future. the digitial culture, media and sport committee heard from a wide range of tourism organisations about the effects on them. in your written submission to the committee you said —— what are you going to do when lockdown is finally over? top of many people's list, no doubt, is a holiday. the covid—19 shut down has had a massive impact on the tourism industry. despite the sunny spring weather, beaches have been deserted. popular beauty spots have been for the most part empty. hotels up and down the uk are shut, along with campsites, b&bs and holiday homes, all of which has left businesses locked up and facing a shaky financial future. the digitial culture, media and sport committee heard from a wide range of tourism organisations about the effects on them. in your written submission to the committee you said you thought the cost impact of covid—19 on your sectors could range from 8 billion to 22 billion and that is quite a range. does the fact that we are now talking about a 14 day quarantine, and we have a staggering high r in parts of the country does that mean are you likely to be at the top end of that expectation due to the cost of covid—19 on your sector? yes, indeed, every time we did that modelling the figures get worse. the worrying thing we see is the lack of confidence in the british public about travelling. so 74% of people who have a holiday booked forjuly, september, think that holiday will not take place. she had a suggestion that could help the industry. we could possibly have a bank holiday in october, because the industry has lost the benefit of the two maybank holidays, that is an idea that is being considered, having an october bank holiday around half—term. what we are going to need to do is notjust generate income injuly and august but extend the season. coastal tourism has also been hit hard. the key for us really is that we believe the coast will take a three year recovery period before it is back to pre—covid—19 levels and we would like to see a collaborative approach across all stakeholders to build back better. now is the time to tackle the seasonality. many businesses, over 20% are looking at how they extend their opening this year so they could claw— back some of their lost revenue. the national trust told the committee it had closed all its buildings, gardens and car parks and had stopped all non essential projects. we will need to review our human resource, we have a lot ofjobs that people simply will not be doing for the next nine months and we are in the process of reviewing then at the moment. we do not anticipate another three months closure but if we have a second wave and had to close completely that would be deeply concerning and what we watch very carefully as you expect is the decline in membership. we were losing the rate of member is four times the normal rate and we cannot replenish our members because our properties are not open. it is the membership base we are watching very closely because once that declines, it is incredibly hard to build it up again. there has been a lot of messaging down on from counsellors and members to stay away and understandably so, lockdown rules etc. but as we move out of that is there any chance that that sort of messaging will have a long—term effect, make people nervous or felt that they are not that welcome? we have had vigilantes. we have holiday parks for accommodating key workers when we could, we had vigilantes checking up and reporting them to the police. who are at these people in the holiday park? that anti—feeling is going to be an issue. at the same time there was something very similar after foot and mouth, people did not want tourists in the countryside because we had to protect farmers but it settled down in a fortnight. if we do not get a second wave, people will get used to having tourists back and if they don't have them back, they will not have a shop or the garage or the butcher, baker, candlestick maker. the tourists are sustaining all the local businesses, when you have a tiny local community you are able to do so. it is all part of it, we are integrated in our coastal communities so we are hoping that it will be seen there is a real challenge there at the moment. and that's it from me for now. parliament is taking a break for a week, so we'll be back when mps and peers return on june the 2nd. but until then, from me, alicia mccarthy, goodbye. most of us will have at least a little welcome rain through the day ahead, but it does look fresher for all. the south and the east held on to the sunniest weather and the warmth at 28 celsius, but for most it felt a little fresher during the day on thursday. this huge swirl of cloud will be responsible for the transition and for the rain. now, as that comes and it's really quite deep for this time of year so it will bring some unseasonably windy weather, gales are being warned about all ready for part of northern ireland, scotland, met office warning in force here. and it hangs around, as you can see, for much of the weekend, bringing further strong winds and more rain. it looks as if parts of northern ireland and the north—west of scotland could see the highest rainfall totals. in fact, in some of the highlands we could have a months worth of rainfall over the coming few days. look at the strength of the wind, really, anywhere from north wales northwards, 50mph gusts of wind, which with the trees in full leaf is clearly a concern. very mild to start our friday and as you can see, cloudier with some rain. it clears away, there may be some thundery showers in eastern areas first thing and then the showers rattle in with sunshine in between but the showers will be frequent and heavy in the north and west and even thundery. and as you can see, those strong and gusty winds affecting all areas, 30—40mph even across the far south. so despite temperatures around about average for this time of year, add in those showers, add in the brisk to strong wind and it will feel much fresher for all. but there'll be some sunshine and some drier weather around. the showers just keep coming though, as we go through the night. but temperatures will fall a little lower than the night we are currently in, slightly fresher air is with us, but still for most, 9 or 10 degrees will be the overnight low and that's because of the strength of the wind, which will still be with us on saturday. low pressure still firmly in charge, further showers or longer spells of rain across scotland and northern ireland. plenty of showers further south and could well be on the heavy side, even the odd rumble of thunder. here, across southern areas sunny spells here, across southern areas sunny spells are lengthier in between. another fresh—feeling day, given the fact we've got atlantic winds and showers and brisk winds which will start to ease just a little in the south into sunday but there will be further pulses of rain across scotland and northern ireland, but fewer showers in the south on sunday and lengthy spells of sunshine. temperatures a little higher by then as well. more online. this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. i'm lewis vaughan jones. china's national people's congress is under way in beijing. subjects for discussion include a new security law for hong kong. it's already been criticised by pro—democracy activists. another 2.5 million americans claim unemployment benefits. now it's middle class suburbia queuing at the food banks. president trump visits a ventilater plant in the key us swing—state of michigan. he trades verbal blows with the state's democratic governor and chooses not to wear a mask in public. getting into greece. we look at how tourists will be screened this summer, as hopes rise of reviving the multi—billion pound tourist
hello there, and welcome to the week in parliament. on this programme — labour says there's been no tracking and tracing of coronavirus in the uk for months. for ten weeks, there's been no tracing, unlike germany and south korea. and tracing is critical. but the prime minister promises the uk will have a world class track—and—trace system. and, yes, it will be in place — it will be in place byjune 1st. the immigration bill bringing in a points—based system passes its first parliamentary hurdle. scotland's first minister sets out her plans to ease the lockdown. and how about this as an idea to lift the spirits when the crisis is finally over? we could possibly have a bank holiday in october, because the industry has sort of lost the benefit of the two main bank holidays. but first, the government faced criticism from senior figures in the care sector of its handling of coronavirus. giving evidence to the health and social care committee, the head of the organisation representing care homes said elderly people should have been prioritised from the beginning of the crisis. the chair of the committee asked about a government ambition to move to routine testing of front line care and nhs staff. have you had any indication or sense that this is going to start anytime soon? well, i mean, we've had the announcements, but so often the announcements, there's a time delay before delivery. so, ithink, you know, the intention is there but also i want to say that it would be very helpful to have both testing and track—and—trace in place, because i think that could be a game—changer as well in this. so, i think the short answer, chair, is we had the announcement but what we haven't had is the delivery, and we're not really clear when that's going to arrive. professor martin green. and those comments on routine coronavirus testing in care homes were seized on by the labour leader sir keir starmer at prime minister's questions the next day. official figures suggest more than 11,500 people have died from the infection in care homes across the uk since the start of the pandemic, so sir keir starmer wanted a straight answer — when would routine testing start? the chief executive of care england, who knows what he's talking about, gave evidence yesterday that it hasn't. if the prime minister is disputing the evidence of the select committee, that's his own business. order, order! secretary of state for health, i don't mind you advising the prime minister, but you don't need to advise the opposition during this. sorry, do you want to leave the chamber? we're at maximum numbers. if you want to give way to somebody else, i'm more than happy. keir starmer. mr speaker, to assure the prime minister, i'm not expressing my own view, i'm putting to him the evidence of experts to the committees yesterday. we have a growing confidence that we will have a test, track—and—trace operation that will be world—beating and, yes, it will be in place — it will be in place byjune ist. the snp‘s westminster leaderjoined calls to exempt more key workers from abroad from having to pay a surcharge to use the health service. people migrating to these nations and choosing to work in our nhs and our care sector must have this government's cruel nhs surcharge removed, and removed immediately. will the prime minister make that pledge today, or will he clap on thursday, hoping that no—one really notices that he's giving with one hand and raking it in with the other? well, boris johnson didn't answer that directly, but he had earlier been asked a similar question by keir starmer and told him that changing the system would leave a hole in the nhs budget. like him, i've been the personal beneficiary of people, or carers who've come from abroad and frankly saved my life, so i know exactly the importance of what he's talking about. on the other hand, we must look at the reality that this is a great national service, it's a national institution, and it needs funding. and those contributions actually help us to raise about £900 million. and it's very difficult in the current circumstances to find alternative sources, so with great respect to the point that he makes, i do think that that is the right way forward. but on thursday afternoon, just 28 hours after those exchanges, it emerged that the prime minister had changed his mind. number ten said borisjohnson had asked the home office and the department for health and social care to remove health service and care workers from the nhs surcharge as soon as possible. now to brexit, swept off the front pages in recent weeks by the coronavirus crisis. peers wanted to know if customs posts would be established at ports and airports in northern ireland from january and how, if that were the case, it was compatible with "repeated assurances from ministers" that goods moving from northern ireland would have free and unfettered access to uk markets. my prime minister said there will be no forms, no checks, no barriers of any kind. you will have unfettered access. my lords, i simply ask the noble lord, the minister, what is the truth? the prime minister said that if there was any forms of any kind, if someone asked you to fill in the forms, tell them to ring up the prime minister and i will direct them to throw that form in the bin. he was referring to customs and tariffs. on that point, can i ask him if somebody does what the prime minister says and tears up the form and puts it in the bin, what number should they call to speak to the prime minister? well, peers didn't have long to wait for an answer to those questions. on wednesday, the government confirmed that there will be new checks on some goods entering northern ireland from the rest of the uk as part of the brexit deal. the cabinet office minister michael gove told mps northern ireland's ports would be developed to carry out checks on animals and food products. the province will continue to follow some eu rules after the brexit transition period ends on december 31st, but mr gove said there would be no "new" customs infrastructure. we acknowledge, however — as we've always done — that on agrifood and live animal movements, it makes sense to protect supply chains and the disease—free status of the island of ireland, as has been the case since the 19th century. that will mean some expansion of existing infrastructure to provide for some additional new processes for the agriculture and food sector. but these processes will build on what already happens at ports like belfast. will my right honourable friend confirm that as from the ist of january 2021, that northern ireland, i.e., a part of the united kingdom, will be required to abide by eu regulations on certain goods until at least 2024, and potentially indefinitely? it is the case that there will be eu regulations, aspects that will apply in northern ireland to 202k. but of course, she draws attention to a very important point, which is that if the workings of the protocol are viewed by the people and the parties of northern ireland as onerous, too much, intrusive and unacceptable, then they have the opportunity to vote them down in 202a. michael gove. meanwhile, measures to create a trade policy independent from the eu came a step closer when the trade bill passed its second reading in the commons. the legislation replaces trade agreements the uk had as an eu member state. as we recover from the economic shock of the coronavirus crisis, providing certainty and predictability in our trading arrangements will be vital to securing the interest of businesses and consumers. we will unleash the potential and level up every region and nation of our united kingdom. now is the time for this house to speak out against protectionism. it is time for us to embrace the opportunities that free trade and an export—led recovery will bring. but labour said the bill was a missed opportunity. instead of a bold strategic vision for the future of our trade policy, we have a stopgap piece of legislation that even ministers are trying to talk down. instead of putting issues like climate change and human rights at the heart of our trade policy, they have been ignored or consciously dropped. instead of opening our trade policy to the expertise of others, the government is denying them even a seat at the table. and instead of restoring parliament's sovereignty over trade policy, this bill leaves mps even more powerless than before. emily thornberry. and another key piece of government legislation also cleared its first commons hurdle. the immigration bill ends the free movement of eu nationals at the end of this year. the aim is to introduce a system whereby would—be migrants to the uk will need a certain number of points — such as for skills, education and salary — before they‘ re allowed to come to work. the home secretary said the bill would give people what they called for when they voted for brexit. the bill before us today will play a vital role in our recovery plans for the future. it will end free movement and pave the way for our new points—based immigration system — a firmer, fairer and simpler system that will attract the people we need to drive our country forward through the recovery stage of coronavirus, laying the foundation for a high—wage, high—skill, productive economy. labour focused on the proposals to bring in a salary threshold and how that might affect health and care workers. in the midst of this crisis, the government is putting forward an immigration system containing a salary threshold of £25,600 that sends a signal and tells people that anyone earning less than that is unskilled and unwelcome in our country. we know that one in six of those brave care workers on the front line of the battle against coronavirus are non—uk nationals. i commend the home secretary for her commitment to extend visas for doctors and nurses, but what of care workers? are they to be the cinderella service, forgotten once again? and what of ancillary staff in our hospitals, so crucial in a war against a virus where repeated deep cleaning is an absolute imperative? we cannot open hospitals if we cannot clean the loos. i'm afraid to say this is a dreadful bill, one which will destroy opportunity for future generations and will split even more families apart. it's a bill that will result in many thousands of eu nationals losing their rights in this country and will extend the hostile environment even further. it does not guarantee the rights of british citizens to live, work and study in eu member states. nor does it fully guarantee the rights of uk citizens already living across the eu. and while i'm disappointed and frustrated that the government refuses to respect the rights of eu citizens who contribute to this country, ifind it beyond comprehension that they do not recognise the need to protect the rights of our citizens, either. a conservative recognised immigration had been a factor in the brexit vote. today, we can put the dilly—dally, dither and delay to an end. i understand there are some concerned about what they see as a bizarre concept — the end of free movement. to me, it's rather simple. a uk immigration system developed by uk elected government — a system that serves our national interest, determined by the needs of our economy, a system that treats immigrants from every corner of the globe on the same basis. matt vickers. now, the number of people claiming unemployment benefit in the uk jumped to just over 2 million in april — the first full month of the coronavirus lockdown. the figures came from the office for national statistics on tuesday. by coincidence, the chancellor rishi sunak was in front of the lords economic affairs committee and its chair got straight to the point. what do you anticipate the level of unemployment will be in the fourth quarter of this year? i don't have a precise estimate. there are a range that are out there from the bank of england and the obr. most of them point to around a double—digit percentage unemployment rate. obviously, the numbers you would have seen today showjust under a million new claims in the last month, over 800,000, taking total number of claims to two million. i think the obr estimate had that tapping out at about three million. obviously, the impact will be severe. there will be more hardship to come. this lockdown is having a very significant impact on our economy. we are likely to face a severe recession, the likes of which we haven't seen, and of course, that will have an impact on employment. do you accept that the length and depth of that recession you refer to will be very much related to the length of the lockdown? i think there's also two things to distinguish. one is the immediacy of the economic impact, the depth of the recession. the question that occupies my mind and indeed long—term is probably more relevant is, what degree of long—term scarring is there on the economy as a result of this recession? what is the depth, what is the loss in productive capacity? becauswe ultimately, once we recover from this crisis — by nature, i believe it will be temporary, of course. we will suppress the virus, we will progressively now lift the restrictions. the question is, what do we return to? and the question there, the jury is out. first minister nicola sturgeon has set out how lockdown restrictions will be eased in scotland. she said schools would start preparing next month to reopen from august 11. some outdoor activities would be allowed from thursday, including opening gardening centres and waste and recycling sites. it would also be possible to meet people from other households, but only outdoors and in small numbers. the first minister said that businesses would reopen as part of a four—phase easing of the lockdown, which would only continue if the spread of the virus was being controlled. we view them as a proportionate and suitably cautious set of first steps and i hope that they will bring some improvement to people's well—being and quality of life, start to get our economy moving again and start to steer us safely towards a new normality. she said the timing of moving between different phases would depend on everyone. we must continue, all of us, to recognise that every single decision we take as individuals has an impact on others and our collective well—being. does the first minister accept that for the parliament and public to have confidence and for scotland to feel safe as we come out of lockdown, it's essential that the infrastructure for testing and tracing — or test and protect — is in place? i want to align our lifting of lockdown measures with our ability to implement a substantial significant test and protect operation, and we will be able to do that from the end of next week in every health board area in the country. we need three guarantees. first, the government should publish the evidence behind the decisions it has taken and it will take in the future. second, we need to see maximum testing capacity and a test, trace and isolate system that is fully working and universally rolled out. and thirdly, the government's strategy must be flexible and able to adapt quickly to changing circumstances. can the first minister give us these guarantees? first minister. yes, i think i can in broad terms. but obviously, the detail of that will be scrutinised on and developed in the weeks to come. a green msp raised newspaper pictures of sunbathers on an edinburgh beach flouting the current lockdown rules. does the first minister agree, particularly given the scenes in portobello, in my own city of edinburgh, yesterday that the lockdown is getting harder to sustain? when i saw the pictures of portobello beach yesterday, i almost felt like crying to some extent because i know why people felt the need to do that and i completely sympathise. but every time we have people getting together in ways that provide opportunities for this virus, we risk the progress we have made together, so i appeal to people to stick with these restrictions for a bit longer so that we can much more quickly work through these phases and get back to the normality all of us badly crave. meanwhile in wales, there were questions for the first minister about his government's road map out of lockdown. mark drakeford described it as a "traffic light system", but it had come with no dates attached. is this road map the best hope the welsh government can actually offer the people of wales and when can we expect to see some timescales alongside your exit strategy? on timescales, let me say, as i've said before and i've been asked, there is a genuine debate to be had as to whether timescales are a helpful way of setting out the future. in the end, we thought that it was more of a distraction then a concentration on the matters that really deserve our attention. —— than a concentration on the matters that really deserve our attention. why should people in wales be subject to the most extraordinary, intrusive and prescriptive restrictions on their freedom if they are not necessary? many who had not before understood the scope of devolved powers don't now like the answer. it's because of devolution. mark dra keford accepted extraordinary powers were being used. i agree with what he has said about devolution being brought home 20 years, and i doubt that it is true that in wales, people aren't aware of devolution. it is certainly true of people outside wales and in london appear to have woken up from a 20—year sleep. local authorities in northern ireland are to get access tojust over £20 million in emergency covid—19 funding from the executive. councils are still carrying out essential work but have lost income from sectors like leisure and tourism. the new funding will help cover costs between now and the end ofjune. northern ireland's communities minister said the executive had agreed to an "immediate intervention" to avoid a cash crisis. the losses sustained to date are such a magnitude that councils will soon be unable to meet their financial liabilities. the executive again yesterday agreed to make funding available of £20.3 million to my department, for local councils to alleviate these financial pressures. this intervention will provide relief to our local councils, to protect the delivery of front line services during this crisis and ensure the councils are ready to play their role in our post—pandemic recovery plans. will primary schools in england be reopening for some pupils from 1june? schools are looking at ways to enforce social distancing and make sure it's safe for youngsters and teachers. but at least 11 councils in england have expressed concerns about the plan, and the teaching union, the nasuwt, said it remained "unconvinced" reopening schools was "appropriate or practicable". peers were told that certain year groups would be expected to go back, providing the government's five tests on easing lockdown restrictions were met. well, labourfocused on the spread — or r value — of the virus. the minister will have seen today that various local authorities across england are advising schools not to open schools in their areas. with public health england having said r values vary across different regions, it's difficult to understand the logic of the government's decision that schools should reopen nationwide 1june. can the noble baroness the minister reveal to the noble lords what the scientific evidence says about re—opening schools in communities which have an r value which is closer to one in the average? the r rate is not actually broken down regionally. it is not published in that form. it's a uk wide estimate range that's published each week. the individual modelling groups include epidemiological information on the intensive care unit rates of admissions, death rates and the rates of hospital admissions. so it is an average value that can vary across communities, but it is not published on a regional basis. what are you going to do when lockdown is finally over? top of many people's list, no doubt, is a holiday. the covid—19 shutdown has had a massive impact on the tourism industry. despite the sunny spring weather, beaches have been deserted. popular beauty spots have been, for the most part, empty. hotels up and down the uk are shut, along with campsites, b&bs and holiday homes, all of which has left businesses locked up and facing a shaky financial future. the digital, culture, media and sport committee heard from a wide range of tourism organisations about the effects on them. in your written submission to the committee, you said that you thought the cost impact of covid—19 on your sector could range from £8 billion to £22 billion. that's quite a range. does the fact that we're now talking about a 14—day quarantine and we have a stubbornly high r in certain parts of the country, does that mean that you're likely to be toward the top end of that expectation in terms of the cost of covid—19 on your sector? yes, indeed. every time we do the modelling, the figures get worse. i think the worrying thing we see is the lack of confidence in the british public about travelling, so that 74% of people who have a holiday booked forjuly and september think that holiday won't take place. she had a suggestion that could help the industry. we could possibly have a bank holiday in october because the industry has sort of lost the benefit of the two may bank holidays. i think that's an idea that is being considered, have an october bank holiday around half—term. because what we're going to need to do is notjust generate income injuly and august but, really, extend the season. coastal tourism has also been hard—hit. the key for us, really, is that we believe the coast will take a three—year recovery period before it's back to pre—covid—19 levels, and what we would like to see is a collaborative approach across all stakeholders to build back better. now is our opportunity to really tackle seasonality on the coast. many businesses, over 20%, are looking at how they extend their opening this year so that they can claw— back some of their lost revenue. the national trust told the committee it had closed all its buildings, gardens and car parks and had stopped all non—essential projects. we will need to review oui’ human resource. we have a lot ofjobs that people simply won't be doing for the next nine months, so we're in the process of reviewing that at the moment. we're not anticipating another three months‘ closure — but if we have a second wave and we had to close completely, that would be deeply, deeply concerning. and what we're watching very carefully, as you would expect, is the decline in membership. we were losing, certainly in the first month, the rate of members four times the normal rate — and, of course, we cannot replenish our members because our properties are not open. so it's the membership base we're watching very closely — because once that declines, it's incredibly hard to build it up again. there's been a lot of messaging that's gone on from councillors and members of parliament — to stay away. understandably so, it was the lockdown rules, etc. but as we move out of that, is there any chance that that sort of messaging has had a more long—term effect, could make people nervous or feel as if they are not that welcome? we have had vigilantes. we have holiday parks accommodating nhs key workers when we could. we've had vigilantes checking up and reporting them to the police. "who are at these people on your holiday park?" that negative anti—feeling is going to be an issue. at the same time, there was something very, very similar after foot—in—mouth. people did not want tourists in the countryside because we had to protect farmers, but it settled down within a fortnight. if we don't get a second wave, things settle down, people will get used to having their tourists back. and if they don't have them back, they won't have the village shop or the garage — the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker — because the tourists are sustaining all the local businesses when you have a tiny local community that's unable to do so. it is all part of it. we re integrated in our rural and coastal communities. so we're hoping that it will be seen, but there is a real challenge there at the moment. and that's it from me for now. parliament is taking a break for a week, so we'll be back when mps and peers return on 2june. but until then, from me, alicia mccarthy, goodbye. hello there. we saw gale force winds across the north and the west of the uk today. lots of showers rattling through across england and wales, though. much of england and wales did stay dry, with plenty of sunshine. most of the rain was in western scotland — it was extremely wet, with over three inches falling on saturday. sunday, less windy, a lot of cloud around in the morning thanks to this weather front bringing outbreaks of rain to the north—west of the country. but high pressure will continue to build in across the south, so that will turn things dry as we head through sunday afternoon. we start the day off, though, with temperatures in double figures for most. that's because we'll start with quite a bit of cloud cover around, and still a fair old breeze out there. it will be quite wet, western scotland in towards north—west england initially, and it looks like the cloud will tend to break up with increasing amounts of sunshine, especially across england and wales, and into the afternoon across northern ireland. these are the mean wind speeds, so you can see quite fresh out there but nothing as strong as what we had on saturday. with slightly lighter winds, more sunshine again in the south, temperatures will creep up to around 22, maybe 23 degrees in the south. high teens further north. on sunday night, the winds turn lighter still. as high pressure builds in, it'll turn drier with lengthy clear skies, a bit of cloud in the far north of scotland. under those clear skies with very light winds, temperatures could drop into single figures for many northern and western areas. one or two spots in the east seeing 10/11 degrees. on into monday, then, a bank holiday monday — high pressure with much of england and wales. we've got these weather fronts just flirting with the north—west corner of the country. that will tend to bring in thicker cloud. there will be a stronger breeze for western parts of northern ireland, western scotland and outbreaks of rain. much of scotland, though, england and wales will be dry, plenty of sunshine. light winds. it's going to feel much warmer for all, especially in the south—east, where we could make 25 or even 26 degrees into the afternoon. as we move out of monday into tuesday, we start to these weather fronts move a little bit further south—eastwards. a very weak feature, but it could introduce more cloud, i think, to parts of england and wales as we go through the day. sunshine making a return to the north and west of the country, but there will still be some glimmers of brightness further south too, and that'll help push temperatures up to around the mid—20s celsius again, as it is a warmer air mass. highs of around 16 or 17 in the north. we will see a bit more cloud at times and the odd spot of rain as we continue to move through the week for scotland and northern ireland. for england and wales, though, with the high pressure dominating, it's going to be warm and sunny. good morning. welcome to breakfast, with sima kotecha and rogerjohnson. our headlines today: a defiant response from downing street over new allegations that the prime minister's chief aide breached lockdown rules. fresh reports claim dominic cummings made more than one trip from london to durham during the lockdown. the government says the allegations are false. a new test—and—trace system to track coronavirus cases is set to launch at the end of the week. as the us gets close to 100,000 deaths from covid—19, the new york times fills its front page with the names and details of victims. good morning. a boost for project restart in the latest round of premier league testing. just two new cases of the virus have been found,